The Secret: What Great Leaders Know -- And Do

In the now classic business fable, The Secret, Debbie, a struggling leader finds herself about to lose her job due to poor performance. In a desperate attempt to save her career, she enrolls in a new mentoring program offered by her company. Much to her surprise, Debbie finds her mentor is the president of the company (Jeff Brown). Debbie decides that all she needs is theIn the now classic business fable, The Secret, Debbie, a struggling leader finds herself about to lose her job due to poor performance. In a desperate attempt to save her career, she enrolls in a new mentoring program offered by her company. Much to her surprise, Debbie finds her mentor is the president of the company (Jeff Brown). Debbie decides that all she needs is the answer to one question, 'What is the secret of great leaders?' Over the next 18 months Jeff explains to Debbie that the secret is rooted in an attitude. He tells her that she must be willing to become a serving leader rather than a self-serving leader. The secret is that all great leaders Serve. The story unfolds as Debbie learns and applies each of these imperatives with her team. As a result, Debbie's team goes from worst to first. They become the highest performing team within the company. In the end, Debbie understood that all the changes and improvements were the result of the choices she made as a leader. She realized that to Serve is a choice. Debbie decided once and for all, she would no longer be a self-serving leader, she would be a serving leader!...more

Hardcover, 144 pages

Published
October 1st 2009
by Berrett-Koehler Publishers
(first published 2001)

I borrowed the following comments from an Amazon review:This is the story of Debbie, a struggling and a failing leader, who learns the lessons of management from her Boss. Miserable with her poor performance, the character of Ken's Book, joins the Mentor Program offered by her company and incidentally, Jeff, the president of the company happens to be the trainer. She thoroughly undergoes the training sessions where she realise her mistakes. She is taught to be a 'Serving Leader' rather than a 'sI borrowed the following comments from an Amazon review:This is the story of Debbie, a struggling and a failing leader, who learns the lessons of management from her Boss. Miserable with her poor performance, the character of Ken's Book, joins the Mentor Program offered by her company and incidentally, Jeff, the president of the company happens to be the trainer. She thoroughly undergoes the training sessions where she realise her mistakes. She is taught to be a 'Serving Leader' rather than a 'self-serving Leader'. She learns the secrets of success with the five steps :* Seeing and shaping the future* Engaging and developing others* Continuously Reinvent* Value results and relationships* Embody the valuesDebbie learns whatever is needed to be a good leader, analyze her progress with examples, exercises and tips.

This was another readable story from the Blanchard library. All the books seem to reinforce each other and the story-telling and summary format is really great.

Told in the form of a story, Miller and Blanchard explain the ideas behind SERVE - the acronym for the five steps that will help change you from a self-serving leader, to a serving leader. It's simple, but effective, and in essence, it's exactly what Jesus Christ exemplified during his 33 years on earth - to be great, you must first be a servant. As a long-time fan of John C. Maxwell (who also wrote the Forward for The Secret), I'm happy to be able to add a new author to my leadership shelf.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here."The Secret" by Ken Blanchard, shows a story of a woman named Debbie who works at a fast food joint with little leadership value or vision. Her CEO Jeff, being a devout christian leader, takes her under his wing and shows her how to inspire others not only in the workplace, but in her personal life as well. Blanchard gives a fairly vivid story that I really enjoyed reading while also showing and modeling a good way to set goals and fundamental characteristics each leader shows in everyday life."The Secret" by Ken Blanchard, shows a story of a woman named Debbie who works at a fast food joint with little leadership value or vision. Her CEO Jeff, being a devout christian leader, takes her under his wing and shows her how to inspire others not only in the workplace, but in her personal life as well. Blanchard gives a fairly vivid story that I really enjoyed reading while also showing and modeling a good way to set goals and fundamental characteristics each leader shows in everyday life. Debbie wasn't some fairy tale story that was stretched beyond reason. Blanchard made her what the typical american would be and portrayed that really well while also incorporating her desire to "achieve the vision" of personal satisfaction in doing her best and inspiring her friends to follow her example. I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading leadership book; its a great read and it takes little time to get through it....more

This book was another brick to my patch in enrolling at Grand Canyon University for my EMBA in leadership. Ken Blanchard was the executive sponsor and spent time with my Cohort (14!) at our three residencies at the Blanchard campuses in San Diego. I will always cherish my time spent at the Blanchard residence with Ken and Margie.

I'm quoted from Foreword because I cannot find better way to describe it:"When I learned that Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller had collaborated on this project, I knew itwould be a winner. ... My challenge to you is simple: learn The Secret—then apply The Secret. If you do, your leadership and your life will be transformed forever!"—John C. Maxwell

This book I mistook for the Book that Oprah highlighted. It is NOT the same. It is a good book with valuable information but not the same as the other. I have yet to read the other one still. Which I plan to still do. This book emphasies service to suceed in what ever it is you are trying to accomplish. As stated in the description found on good reads. The five ways in which leaders can succeed through service are seeing and shaping the future; engaging and developing others; reinventing continuThis book I mistook for the Book that Oprah highlighted. It is NOT the same. It is a good book with valuable information but not the same as the other. I have yet to read the other one still. Which I plan to still do. This book emphasies service to suceed in what ever it is you are trying to accomplish. As stated in the description found on good reads. The five ways in which leaders can succeed through service are seeing and shaping the future; engaging and developing others; reinventing continuously; valuing results and relationships; and embodying the values. ...more

This is my first review on here, so be nice. :) The Secret is not your ordinary leadership book. It doesn't have lists of definitions and procedures to remember. Instead, it is written as a short story with characters. This is important because people are captivated more by characters than by lists. The authors do a great job explaining there leadership philosophy through the use of the short story.

A quick read (or listen) - lots of common sense and even inspiring in places. Leadership/Management lessons told through a (slightly contrived) fictional account of a failing leader and her growth through active mentoring. Bottom line: good leaders serve others -- think about the people around you and the mission of the organization and do whatever you can to support them.

First bought this as an audiobook. The concept in this book is easy to grasp esp that it's in a story format. I love "the secret" so I used it to set foundations and direction at work. My boss and colleagues were impressed. I ordered the actual book after listening to the audio because I want to pursue the lessons. Highly recommended for those aspiring to be great leaders.

I like that this book is short and accessable. It's written in the form of a story, which makes the book read quickly. Disclaimer - the authors are not fiction writers, so it can be awkward and cheesy at parts. But, keep with it, you'll learn a lot about leadership in not a lot of time.

I read this book in a day, it doesn't take much to go through it. Most books like this tend to be dull and boring, but this book read like a short story. It has a lot of good and thought provoking elements that are good for any level of management, as there's always room to improve.

The CEO of my company recommended this. Very well written, very quick read. Very different approach to leadership than what I learned from the military many years ago. The book was very well worth reading and leaves you with much to think about.

I usually don't like books that all about a conversation between two people, but I liked the tips in this book on how to use SERVE model to be a great leader.the key message in this short book is to be a serving leader not a self serving one!

Based on the principals of leadership through serving, the book consists of easy to remember principals that are good qualities to have and strive toward. The message is good but the writing and story telling could be better.

SERVE!!!! Good concepts, wasn't crazy about the way it was presented, though it is definitely memorable and will stick with you. I just found the "storytelling" aspect a bit too...forced. But definitely excellent principles!

I listened to this book using Audible on my iPhone. It was easy to listen to and was formated to teach by telling a story. It was quick, insightful and kept me engaged. The "story" seemed a little "cookie cutter" at times though.

Good presentation of what servant leadership looks like in the corporate setting. The use of a story to put across the fundamental concepts was a good mechanism for making the book interesting and compelling.

Ken Blanchard, one of the most influential leadership experts in the world, is the coauthor of the iconic bestseller, The One Minute Manager, and 60 other books whose combined sales total more than 21 million copies. His groundbreaking works have been translated into more than 27 languages and in 2005 he was inducted into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.

KKen Blanchard, one of the most influential leadership experts in the world, is the coauthor of the iconic bestseller, The One Minute Manager, and 60 other books whose combined sales total more than 21 million copies. His groundbreaking works have been translated into more than 27 languages and in 2005 he was inducted into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.

Ken is also the cofounder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Margie Blanchard, began in 1979 in San Diego, California.

When he’s not writing or speaking, Ken also spends time teaching students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego. Ken can be found at www.kenblanchard.com....more